Evening star. [volume], May 22, 1932, Page 2, Image 24

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
SUNDAY.May 83. 183i
THEODORE W. NOYES-Edito:
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Bungling Enough in New Jersey.
The Lindbergh kidnap «ng case and its
remarkable ramifications of deception
and extortion has been treated from the
outset as a crime against the laws of
the State of New Jersey. The investi
gation has been conducted by the New
Jersey State police, some aid has been
given by the police of other States and
by the Department of Justice in this
city. State boundaries have been crossed
here and there, but not to the extent of
making the crime one of Federal juris
diction. For there is no Federal law on
the subject of kidnaping. A bill to that
effect is now pending in Congress with
prospect of passage. Its enactment after
the deed, however, would not affect the
Lindbergh case. Meanwhile the Fed
eral Bureau of Investigation of the De
partment of Justice can only serve in
an advisory capacity upon the request
of the New Jersey authorities.
Had this crime occurred in England it
would undoubtedly have been at once
taken in hand by the Criminal Investi
gation Department, which is popularly
known as Scotland Yard. That organi
zation is strictly only the police of the
metropolitan district, covering an area
of about nine hundred square miles, or
that within a radius of perhaps fifteen
miles from Charing Cross. It is the
largest police force in the world, and Is
commanded by officers appointed by the
national executive. It does not inter
fere with the work of the local police
organisations, which are nearly two
hundred in number and which are
strictly under local authorities. But in
practically all instances of major crime,
especially when the criminal passes be
yond the boundary of the borough or
county of the immediate occurrence,
Scotland Yard is called upon for at least
assistance and often for a complete con
duct of the investigation. The rights of
the local police forces are scrupulously
observed, and the ”C. I. D.” at London
acts only upon request. Just so has the
Federal Bureau of Investigation acted,
to the slight extent that it Is now doing,
only upon the request of the New Jer
sey authorities.
The feeling prevails that the investi
gation of this crime hss not been
competently prosecuted. Certainly not
effectively as regards results. The local
police authorities in New Jersey were
not competent in truth to handle so
difficult and baffling a case. At the
outset It appeared to be an interstate
crime, as it was supposed that the kid
napers had fled beyond the boundaries
of the State. There is now melancholy
evidence that the Infant hostage was
taken only a short distance from its
home to be slain, which as far as the
kidnaping and the murder are con
cerned made the case strictly local In
technical jurisdiction. But even so, it
was more than the New Jersey police
could manage.
In the developments of the case the
false clues that were so fruitlessly pur
sued under the direction of the astound
ing Curtis, the "contact” with the kid
napers through the amazing Condon
and the payment of money in supposed
redemption of the child—these were all
outside of the local jurisdiction. As
these enterprises were conducted prac
tically by Col. Lindbergh himself there
was no place in them for Federal as
sistance or counsel or supervision. Yet
if the guidance of the Department of
Justice bureau had been sought in these
efforts, they would probably have been
abandoned as obviously futile and false.
Now the problem is to find the steal
ers and killers of the child. There is no
question of ransom. There can be no
question of forgiveness. These people
must be found. The New Jersey police
organization has failed miserably. It is
time that the Federal Government be
formally given charge of the pursuit,
which is a test of the efficacy of law in
America.
Crime is usually ignorant and cow
ardly. It depends on sheer audacity in
defying self-respecting humanity. The
task of “dc-bunking” the underworld
should not be difficult.
Illegal and Not Legal Tender.
Over in the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing a bit of work is under way
that is technically a violation of the
Federal law. A reproduction of a piece
of United 6tates currency Is being
created, an exact representation of a
dollar bill This bill, which is being
made of macerated pulp from old money,
estimated to contain about ten million
dollars' worth of destroyed currency, is
twelve feet long and five and a half
feet wide. It is an “exhibit” a show
piece. In all likelihood It will be sent
out to the Chicago World’s Fair next
year.
The law prohibits the reproduction
of any item of the Federal currency.
It is illegal even to photograph a bill
of any denomination or to reproduce a
coin in any medium. It is illegal even
to reproduce a Treasury warrant or
check. Some thirty-three years ago an
enterprising photographer of this city
boos a snapshot of a Treasury draft
for twenty million dollars, which was
to be handed over to the government
of Spain In settlement of the “price”
of the Philippine Islands and other
Spanish possessions taken by the United
States in the war of 1898. The photo
grapher was technically arrested and
(Compelled to destroy the plate,
i But this great exhibit replica to
«
money pulp will be entirely legal so
long as the United States make* It and
shows It as a sanAple of its own cur
rency. By no stretch of the imagina
tion could it ever be conceived as a
menace to the integrity of the currency.
, The explanatory placard or tablet ac
companying It should distinctly state
that this display is not to be regarded
as a precedent for private enterprise.
The Local Tax Burden.
Elsewhere in these columns today
will be found the first of a series of
articles describing the comparative tax
data submitted to the Senate Subcom
mittee on District Appropriations last
week by the Citizens' Joint C„. mlttee
on Fiscal Relations between the United
(States and the District of Columbia.
I In this and subsequent articles the claim
that Washington is undertaxed—that
claim underlying House action in re
ducing the Federal contribution by $3,
000,000—is refuted and by general and
| detailed comparisons of actual official
figures, not guesses or estimates, is |
shown to be untrue.
Washington is the only city in the
United States—perhaps, in the whole
of this wide world—where a statement ,
that its taxes are low denotes a species
of condemnation and even vilification,
for the statement is made in the spirit
dT plastering the local community with
the stigma of tax dodging. In the heat
of the controversy over fiscal relations,
the impression gains easy ascendancy
that the desideratum of the average
American community is to fasten about
its neck a yoke of taxation under which
the taxpayers may groan in exquisite
agony. And some recent comparisons
! of tax burdens would invite the assump
tion that Washington's legislators have
fallen short of the standard of efficient
government by not having hoisted the
| burden of local taxation to the highest
| mark in America.
The Citizens’ Joint Committee nas
demonstrated by various tests that
Washington is not underused. The
local tax burden is even higher than
that which exists in comparable cities.
Washington's Ux burden is not low
when its per caplU assessed valuation
of property exceeds that of every one
of the 63 cities in the United SUtes
of more than 125.000 population.
Washington’s Ux burden is not low
when iU per caplU real estate Ux levy
i exceeds that of 32 of the 63 cities with
which It is compared
Washington’s Ux burden is not low
when Its per caplU total Ux levy ex
ceeds that of 36 of these cities.
Washington's Ux burden is not low
when iU per caplU toUl municipal Ux
levy, compared on the basis of current
city maintenance exceeds 54 of the 63
cities.
Still more untenable becomes the
charge that Washington Is under
used when receipts from Uxes and ex
penditure* for maintenance of munic
ipal functions are compared as between
Washington and six represenUtlve
American cities—Baltimore, the nearest
large city and the largest city in ad
jacent Maryland; Richmond, the eapi
tal of adjacent Virginia; New Orleans,
the “metropolis of the South" and
largest city of Louisiana; Minneapolis,
largest city of MlnnesoU, New Orleans
and Minneapolis closely approximating
Washington in population; St. I/wis,
one of the largest cities of the Middle
West and largest city in Missouri; In
dianapolis, largest city in Indians.
Washington is not underused when
iU per capiU Ux levy, compared on
the basis of current city maintenance,
is far in excess of any of these repre
senUtive cities.
Washington is not undertaxed when
its per caplU toUl Uxes (including spe
cial assessments) are greater than that
of any of these cities.
Washington is not undertaxed when
IU property assessment is about twice as
great as the combined property assess
ments of the two citiee which are nearest
to It in population—Minneapolis and
New Orleans; when its toUl Ux levy
exceeds the total ux levy of each of
these cities; when its toUl Uxes and
I special assessments are more than
*4,000,000 in excess of the city nearest
in population, Minneapolis, and more
than *11,000,000 In excess ol the city
that is next nearest, New Orleans.
Washington s extraordinary expendi
tures to maintain municipal functions,
by reason of the fact that this is the
National Capital, are adequately demon
strated when its per capita expenditure
on general departments is shown to be
far in excess of that of the six cities
with which it is compared; when in
practically every function of Govern
ment its per capita expenditures are
higher than in the representative cities
with which it is compared.
It should not be necessary to show
that Washington’s tax burden Is high
by comparing it with every large city
of the United States. But that has been
done.
It should be sufficient to show that
Washington'! tax burden, as measured
by actual, total figures, is approximately
the same as the cities that are nearest
in population. Such comparison has
been made, and the result la not to
Indicate an approximate equality of
taxation between Washington and its
nearest neighbors in point of popula
tion, but to show Washington as head
and shoulders above them.
The effort should be to lower local
taxes to the point where the burden
would be more In keeping with the
size and the nature of this dependent
community of taxpayers, denied the j
right to participate In the government j
which taxes them. The effort should
be to lower the tax burden to the level
of efficiently governed, well managed
and representative municipalities.
Sherlock Holmes is hard to duplicate
in real life, but that sleek old party Get
Rich Quick Wallingford is still with us.
France Stands Pat.
Hopes cherished abroad, following
the recent defeat of the Tardieu
"right” government, that the victory of
the Herriot '’left” partiee meant a
swing toward a more liberal French
foreign policy have been promptly
dashed. Edouard Herriot. likeliest suc
cessor to the premiership when Andre
Tardieu formally lays it down in June,
has already declared himself for the
established French policies on war
debts, reparations and disarmament.
On all three of thoee cardinal is
sues, connoting as they do the whole
European "problem," France stands
pat. To ram home the solidarity of
French sentiment, M Herrlofa state
ment on the subject is made la con
junction with M. AJfcert LeBrun, new
President of Franc* Xt is directed to
] the foreign diplomat* stationed in
Paris and constitutes the first formal
pronunciamento of the impending new
rulers of the Republic.
The French program, as it was under
Tardieu, under Laval, under Poincare—
under, indeed, all of France's post-war
premier*—continue* to be a program
bent upon effecting national security,
arbitration and disarmament, in the
order named. As to reparations, the
Herriot-Le Brun platform contains two
primary planks—the maintenance of
European solidarity on the reparations
! question and no rupture in the equl
! librium between credits and debts at
j the expense of the French taxpayer,
j In plain English, this means that if
i the French budget has to get along
I without the income from German repa
j rations, budget outgo, somehow, must
j be correspondingly diminished. Here is
I only a thinly-veiled reference to French
i expectations as to war debts.
M. Herriot proclaims his strong ad
herence to the plan which Premier
I Tardieu sprang upon the Oeneva Con
• ference at the opening of the disarma
ment discussions in February. The
French put forward the thesis that no
, reduction in armk would be possible
from their standpoint until the League
of Nations is put in control of an inter
national police force capable of pre
venting war or suppressing a breach
of the peace. If the world cannot
bring itself to guarantee France the
security she would thus derive, the
French remain definitely determined to
look after their own defensive needs.
That presents a situation, in view of
Geneva's unmistakable reluctance to
adopt the French plan, which is not de
signed to fill the devotees of disarma
ment with hope.
Almost at the moment the Herriot
Le Brun foreign policy was promul
gated at Paris, Geneva was rejecting
Germany’s disarmament program, espe
cially the proposal to prohibit all mili
tary aircraft. The Reich alone at pres
ent, under the disabilities imposed upon
it by the Versailles treaty, is debarred
from using military planes. Thus col
lapses. apparently for good and all, the
Germans' hopes of securing from the
Geneva Conference at least “theoretical
equality” in the realm of armaments.
It is unfortunate that the president
of Princeton should be compelled, in
intellectual candor, to study the de
pravities as well as the glories of
human thought. The possibility that
Col. Lindbergh's child was deliberately
murdered is not one to be dismissed,
terrible as It is. Conditions are increas
ingly deplorable and hope of improve
ment must rely on the ability to dis
cover and to face the truth.
-■ M --
Grand opera tenors live up to their
reputation for unreasonable demands.
Some of them insist on expecting as
much money as is paid to a first-class
radio crooner.
Courage Is a strange and admirable
quality. Sometimes It seems a trifle
| unfair, as a fearless transatlantic flyer
leaves all the anxiety to be endured by
the public.
The old gold brick game is seldom
heard of now. But there are others
quite as easy and even more remuner
ative.
Wall 8treet and Broadway suffer to
gether when "the tired business man”
becomes weary of financing shows espe
cially intended for his relief.
Europe has not been especially con
siderate of Uncle Sam's pride, but as
surances are conveyed to tourists that
It is still Interested in his purse.
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Perplexity.
Old world, as you go on your way,
You leave us ail perplexed.
We re never sure, from day to dey,
What you’ll be doing next.
Sometimes with sunshine end a smile
You banish all distress,
And next you bring us for a while
The tears of bitterness.
In steadfast faith your way you make
Through honor and through blame.
The course for you ordained you take—
And we must do the same.
Home Sentiment.
"Don't you regard Home, Sweet
Home,’ as a sort of national anthem?”
asked the musician.
"Yes.” answered Senator Sorghum.
" ’There’s no place like home, jspecially
In these days. Even home brew u bet
ter than what you are liable to get in
a speakeasy.”
Jud TunkJns says when he meets a
man who thinks he knows more than
anybody else he takes off his hat and
Is willing to do anything to help him
prove it.
Latest Excuse.
A wet exclaimed, “This life is tough;
Sometimes I almost think
This prohibition is enough
To drive a man to drink!”
Never Idle.
"I am annoyed by idle gossip.”
"There's no such thing as Idle gossip,”
said Miss Cayenne. "Goesip is always
most industrious.”
‘‘When you have explained apace and
eternity." said Hi Ho, the sage of China
town, “you may claim to have learned
the first two letters in the immense
alphabet of knowledge."
Swift Going.
When tales ere told In phrasee terse
Of various market losses,
Tips about storks seem even worse
Than tips about the hosses.
"De worst about what folks calls ‘de
underworld,'" said Uncle *ben, “is dat
ll’a beginnln' to act so overbearin'.*’
Bad Bulla, Too.
From the Bsc Antonio Bvtmns News.
Short selling may be as bad as it is
painted, but the Nation's spokesmen
agree that short buying Is a great daal
worse.
That Is Roosevelt's Quest.
From tht New York Bun.
The Smithsonian Institution reports
the discovery of many important fos
sila during the past ye,ir, not including
the Forgotten Man.
Try Again.
Front the Detroit News.
Without short selling, says Percy
Rockefeller, the stock market couldn't
exist. But Isn’t there something to be
sold id favor of short selling?.
| THINGS ESSENTIAL |
BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LI. D,
Bishop of tf ashinglon.
Text: "And Mary laid. Behold the
handmaid a) the Lord; be it unto me
according to my word.”'—St. Luke,
US.
The greatest of mothers, responsive
to the angel's salutation, affirmed her
ready obedience to the great command.
Among the mothers of men. Mary, the
mother of Jeans, stands supreme. From
her life and Its ilinple. humble setting
poets and minstrels have drawn their
inspiration, and artists Hie theme for
i their mast glowing paintings. In the
| literature of the world nothing In com
i parable to the Idyllic story as recorded
in the opening chapter of 8t. Luke's
gospel. It presents a picture of do
mestic life pstnted In colors that never
lose their chium or ap|>rul. Homeliness
and humility of circumstance are con
spicuous marks of distinction. In the
beloved Mary the mothers of men find
the supreme exemplar of tile exalted
office of motherhood. Few and frag
meniary are tne Incidents related con- ;
ccrnlng the home life in Nazareth, and
the first 12 years are veiled in ob
scurity. The first public disclosure of
the child Jesus, where he appears In
the temple with the learned doctors, re
veals the tender solicitude of His moth
er. Subsequent to this Incident He
passes again Into the quiet and ob
scurity of the Nazareth home. What
the long years of Intimate association
with this mother may have meant is
not disclosed, but Imagination may In
fancy conceive of the growing Intimacy
and of the long and undisturbed com
munion between mother and son. Later
In the critical events of His life the
mother takes a conspicuous place, and
no more striking expression of her de
votion Is disclosed than In the memor
able words, "Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus his mother." The whole
picture of this domestic scene, with
its exhibition of maternal care and so
licitude. constitutes an example worthy
of emulation throughout the ages.
In days such as these, where we are
considering the fundamental things that
concern our life we may not lost sight
of the essential place the mother oc
cupies in determining the destiny of
our individual and corporate life. It is
inevitably true that the character of
a people is made in the homes of the
nation. Subject as we are to the laws
and conventions Imposed upon us, we j
neea to remember that the influences
that really make us what we are pro
ceed from the fireside. It was wisely
observed by some one that we receive
our religious impulses largely from the
mother and our political preferences
and our occupational bents from the
lather. This may be a happy division
of responsibility. Anything and every
thing that tends to Impair the home
influence is a menace to our stability
and security. The more we study the
lives of the good and the great, the ,
mure convinced we are urn rnnj |
training and home discipline are the
mightiest contributing factor* In the
molding of character and the deter
mining of life'* largest efficiency.
Talking recently with one of the out
standing leader* of our generation, who
hud attained proud distinction, he ven
tured the observation that all that he
was was wholly due to the Influence* i
that proceeded from an early and very
humble home. And he added that the
mother Influence excelled all other In
fluences that had played about his
eventful life. He reminded us of the
old adage: "No man Is ever greater
than his mother.” It has been repeat
edly demonstrated In the life of na
tions that their strength resides In the
wholesomeness and simplicity of their
domestic life.
While we are attempting to set our
national house in order in a time where
fresh evaluations are being made, we
do well to give heed to the place of that
which ultimately determines our happi
ness and our prosperity. We do well
to so safeguard the Interests of the
home, to so exalt the glory and high
distinction of the mother that these
fundamental elements shall not be Im
paired or In any wise confused with the
less important interests and concerns of
life. To no loftier place may a woman
aspire than that of being "a handmaid
of the Lord."
Roosevelt Boom Regains Momentum;
Tammany Troubles Present Problems
BY GEORGE VAN SLYKE.
NEW YORK. May 21.—A* the presi
dential rivalries narrow down In the
last lap of the race leading Into the
Chicago conventions, less than one
month hence, President Hoover goes
forward In a one-man contest and Oov.
Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York
continues to draw steadily away from
the straggling field of favorite sons,
leaving a long gap between him and
his leading contender.
Presidential politics dominated all ac
tivities In Congress and the wide range
of State contests in one of the heaviest
weeks of the entire pre-convention
campaign. Little of partisan advantage
has been gained by either side in the
backing and filling In Congress, where
the Democrats and Republicans appear
chleflly concerned about their personal
and local political standing. Prohibi
tion still pushes Into the foreground as
the one troublesome problem ahead for
the Republicans.
* * * *
Oov. Roosevelt has resumed his for
ward push, having added eight dele
gate units to his already impressive
total during the week and approached
clooely the coveted majority needed to
organize the national convention and
take over control of the party next
month. Unless there is an unforeseen
upset, the Roosevelt forces expect to
pass the majority mark next week and
then will strike out in a determined
effort to make sure of 660 votes, which
they set as their minimum on the first
ballot.
The chock which A1 Smith slipped
under the wheels of the Roosevelt
bandwagon was not big enough to hold.
It has splintered and the bandwagon
has started off again. Roosevelt picked
up more than 100 delegates during the
week. Smith added Connecticut's 16
to his list, but lost 16 claimed in Penn
sylvania when the Rooeevelt forces took
control of the State o rganization at a
stormy session In Harrisburg on Tues
day.
* * * *
The Roosevelt managers now claim
they are assured of 66 votes from Penn
sylvania, which was their goal from the
start of the contest. If they control
the machinery of the national conven
tion, there is little doubt the contested
seats will go to their delegates. With
that gain, their count, as recorded in
the New York headquarters, credits the
Governor with 471 votes as the week
ends.
That does not include New York
delegates, where the minimum claim
of the Roosevelt forces puts down 36
up-State representative* as safe for the
Oovernor, regardless of Ills relations
with Tammanv. Nor does the 471 in
clude the 50 from Louisian*. Arkansas,
Porto Rico and the Philippines, which
are claimed as pledged, but not in
structed. Their actual paper count,
without being too cautious, la given by
the Roosevelt managers at 587, only 20
short of s majority.
w * * *
One of the chief objectives now set
by the Roosevelt managers in the clos
ing days of their campaign Is to make
safe the nomination of the New York
Governor without the aid of Tammany
HalL It is now their belief that they
can win without Tammany; they will
drive harder than ever during the next
three weeks to gather in delegates
wherever possible, so that In the event
of a close contest at the finish Tam
many will not have a veto power.
Two vital considerations dictate this
policy. One hi that his managers be
lieve Gov. Roosevelt will be a much
stronger candidate In the Nation If he
can be nominated without going to
Tammanv for support. The history of
the democracy is that Democratic can
didates who have been opposed by
Tammany have won; Democrats bark
ed by Tammany almost Invariably have
lost The great mass of Roosevelt sup
porters from the West and South look
with disfavor on Tanynany; they would
give more enthusiastic support to the
New Yorker If he could win without
the New York City machine support.
* * * *
The other reason for earnestly desir
ing that end Is that Roosevelt and his
friends foresee the probability of a clash
with Tammany over Mayor Walker's
removal from office, at almost the mo
ment the nomination Is being made
The situation Is shaping up to that
climax. The Seabury Investigation of
the Walker administration centers now
on the official conduct of the mayor
and the financial affairs of his closest
personal and political friends.
On all sides the prediction is made
in New York that Judge Seabury will
call on Gov. Roosevelt to remove Mayor
Walker. The mayor does not appear at
all disturbed by the prospect Tam
manv Is reported as reconciled to the
situation and may not battle to keep
Walker In office.
If the case develops as is now fore
cast. the Governor may face an ex
ceedingly unpleasant situation. If he
were to remove the mayor on the eve
of the national convention he would
se accused of making a grandstand play
as a bid for popular favor In a Nation
antagonistic to Tammany. If he were
to hesitate in the face of stubborn
facts or to refuse to remove Walker In
the event of a strong case being pre
sented, he would be charged with
truckling to Tammany to get its vote in
the convention. His managers and
friends see that as an imminent dan
ger, ahould it come to pass that the
Governor were convinced the mayor
should not be thrown out of office.
* * * *
Therefore, it becomes doubly Impor
tant that Roosevelt win that nomina
tion. if poaalble, without any dealing
with Tammany. His managers now be
I lieve It can be done. John F Curry
| and his associates In the Hall have
| given no hint of what they Intend to
do. Edward J. Flynn, secretary of
State, Is leader of the Bronx and has
been a close political ally of Tammany
and A1 Smith for 20 years. But this
year he Is In Roosevelt's corner and
one of the Inner circle of campaign
advisers. He will stand with the Gov
ernor against Tammany if a break
comes.
The presumption Is that Tammany
will swing to Roosevelt if the Governor
is wlthlng striking distance of the
nomination and the New York votes are
enough to put him over—and that re
gardless of what develops in Mayor
Walker's case. There is little Inclina
tion In Tammany to lend support to
Smith, who Is counted as hopelessly out
of the race. There Is strong sentiment
in the organization for Oov. Ritchie of
Maryland, but the New Yorkers will not
jo to a favorite son of another State If
Roosevelt has a majority. Tammany
would like to be able to throw in the
votes to nominate Roosevelt if the race
gets as close as that. The Roosevelt
men in the State delegation claim 36
votes in the rural sections as safe for
the Governor, reggrdless of what the
Tammany allies may do. They expect
to get at least 44, but are uncertain
about 8.
fCopyrlsht. 19SJ >
Better Housing Aids in
Restoring Prosperity
BY HARDEN COLFAX.
The response of American industry
and local welfare effort to calls for im
proving property as a means of helping
labor and business in these times Is
shown In surveys of “property improve
ment” campaigns now being made by a
committee of the Department of Com
merce. It is predicted that such cam
paigns already under way and reported
up to this week will by the middle of
Summer involve the expenditure for
labor and materials of more than
$33,000,000.
The duty of industry, in its own In
terest. to take part In these movements
and to work for a gradual decentral
ization of population, so that better
housing may mean better business, Is
emphasized In reports just issued by
the President's Conference on Home
Building and Home Ownership. There
are evidences that business leaders are
awakening to a realization of this duty
and opportunity.
Reports from 200 cities to the De
partment of Commerce indicate that the
results already are being reflected in a
greatly reduced number of applications
for relief to local welfare organisations.
Portland. Oreg., reported an amount
pledged for property improvements ex
ceeding $10,500,000. including both labor
and material. The campaign to secure
this business cost the city more than
$4,000. Once started, moreover, Port
land's people are said to be spending
substantially more than the sum they
originally pledged.
Other cities reporting in this survey
includp Omaha, with pledges of $6,000 -
000; Cincinnati. $4,500,000; Spckane,
Wash , over $4,000,000; Duluth, Minn.,
$3,750,000, and a number of other cities
in New England, the South and the Par
West between $200,000 and $500,000
each. Quite a lot of others reported
pledges ranging from $50,000 to $100,000
Cleveland has what its citizens call a
"renovlzing laboratory,” where practical
ideas along this line are worked out
and made available to the public with
out charge.
* * * *
Besides the local business associations
the home improvement campaign man
agers in these cities inform the depart
ment committee that they have had the
assistance of various local organisations,
such as American Legion posts, civic
bureaus and other groups of public
spirited citizens. The cities reporting
are a unit in emphasizing the value
these campaigns have proved to their
local business situation.
The Conference on Home Building
and Home Owenrshlp of the President's
home building organisation has just
brought out its third volume of final
reports. It deals with slums and the
decentralization of housing. Dr. John
M. Gries, who was executive secretary
of the conference and who edits the
volume, believes that better housing
conditions are absolutely necessary in
the United States, called for not only
by human welfare but by the needs of
business itself. He says, "Unless busl
ness men and business groups accept the
challenge, housing by public authority
is inevitable.”
The "seasoned conclusion” of the
committee is that "industry must look
Into the future and assume its proper
responsibilities, not only for the com
mon good but for its own security and
common growlh." The decentralization
of population is urged and it is sug
gested that railroad rates might profit
ably be changed as a major step.
The committee believes that if the
technique and energy which have pro
duced skyscrapers sad factories In
modem America were applied to reduce
the cost cf dwelling* at least another 10
Eer cent of our population could be
oused properly.
(Copyright, 1S32.)
That ’Tgate" Is Important.
From th» Ann Arbor Deily News.
We hope those Senate investigators |
who visit Wall Street will remember
that they are sent to Investigate and
not invest.
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL r. KENNEDY.
The present fuss and feathers over
the multitude and variety of tax pro
posals isn't a new story for the Ameri
can taxpayers or for the members of
the legislative branch of Government.
8enator Tom Connally of Texas has just
had his attention called by a constitu
ent to a complaint recorded by Repre
sentative George W. Morgan of Ohio
'way back In the Fortieth Congress,
some 65 years ago, quoting from the
Congressional Globe as follows:
"We are taxed for cur clothing, our
meat and our bread,
On our carpets and dishes, our table
and bed,
On our tea and our coffee, our fuel and
lights,
And we're taxed so severely that we
can't sleep o’ nights.
“We are stamped on our mortgages,
checks, notes and bills.
On gur deeds, on our contracts and on
our last wills;
And the Star Spangled Banner In
mourning doth wave
O'er the wealth of the Nation turned
into the grave.
“We are taxed on our offices, our stores
and our shops,
On our stoves, on our barrels, on our
brooms and our mops.
On our horses and cattle, and If we
should die.
We are taxed on our coffins in which we
must lie.
“We are taxed on all goods by kind
Providence given,
We are taxed on the Bible that points
us to Heaven;
And when we ascend to the heavenly
goal,
You would, If you could, stick a stamp
on our $oul.”
* * * *
Especially in presidential campaign
i years and whenever a big overthrow in
Congress is anticipated, some one iocuses
attention on the famous advice given
by Champ Clark to the American voters
to send a promising man to Congress
and then keep him there. This year it
is Representative William W. Hastings
of Oklahoma who quotes the sage ad
monitions of the great philosopher some
18 years ago:
“A man has to learn to be a Repre
sentative,” he said, “Just as he must
learn to be a blacksmith, a carpenter,
a farmer, an engineer, a lawyer or a
doctor.”
He cited the example of John Ran
dolph of Roanoke, whose district "kept
him In the House till he became a great
national figure. • Then the Old Dominion
sent him to the Senate and Gen. Jack
son sent him to St. Petersburg
“It is unwise for any district to
change Representatives at short Inter
vals.' Champ Clark warned. “A new
Congressman must begin at the foot of
the class and spell up. If he possesses
certain qualities, and If his constituents
will keep him in the House, he Is as
certain to rise as the sparks are to rise
Upward. No human power £n keep
him down. It is only fair antPrational
to assume that every Represehtative's
constituents desire to see him among
the top notchers.’
“New England and the cities of
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have un
derstood the value of long service all
along, and having elected a fairly good
man to Congress, they keep him in the
harness.
“The best rule, it seems to me, la for
a district to select a man with at least
fair capacity, Industrious, honest, ener
getic. sober and courageous, and keep
him here so long as he discharges his
duties faithfully and well. Such a man
will gradually rise to high petition and
influence In the House. His wide ac
quaintance with members helps him
amazingly in doing things.”
The present House well illustrates
former Speaker Clark's words: Repre
sentative Gilbert N. Haugen, former
chairman of the House Committee on
Agriculture and who has broken the
all-time record for continuous service,
is now serving his thirty-third year;
Representative Edward W. Pou, chair
man of the Rules Committee, is serving
his thirty-first year; Speaker John N.
Garner is serving his twenty-ninth year;
House* Leader Rainey Is serving his
twenty-seventh year. Five members are
serving their twenty-fifth year, three
of them consecutive service—Repre
sentative Willis C. Hawley. Oregon,
former chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee; Representative
James C McLaughlin of Michigan and
Representative Adolph J. 8abath of
Illinois; and two of them not con
secutive service—Representative Bur
ton L. French. Idaho, and Representa
tive John M. Nelson, Maine. Three
members are serving their twenty
third consecutive year. Representative
Joseph W. Byms of Tennessee, chair
man of the Appropriations Committee:
Representatives James W Collier of
Mississippi, chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee, and Representative
Edward T. Taylor of Colorado. Repre
sentatives Robert L. Doughton of
North Carolina and J Charles Linthi
cum of Maryland, chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, are
serving their twenty-first consecutive
year. Representative Charles R. Crisp
of Georgia, acting chairman of the
Ways and Means Committee, and Rep
resentative John Q Tilson of Con
necticut, former House leader, are each
serving his twenty-first year, but not
consecutive.
* * * *
Since it was George Washington whc
laid the comer stone of the Capitol
Building with Masonic rites in 1793.
It was most appropriate that the gavel
used In the dedication of the new George
Washington Memorial in Alexandria,
erected by the Masons of the country,
should have been fashioned from wood
that came out of the original Capitol
structure and from the Mount Vernon
Mansion.
This gavel was the gift cf a group
of Masons who have been employed In
the Capitol for many years and was
made In the workshops of the Capitol.
It Is to be used only on each Washing
ton's birthday anniversary celebration,
February 22, at the Masonic Memorial.
The head, or hammer, part of the
gavel is fashioned from old mahogany
brought in rough state from Honduras.
This mahogany was hauled to what is
now the Capitol Plaza and was there
put into doors and window frames.
When the Capitol was partially de
stroyed by the British in 1814 portions
of these mahogany doors and window
frames were saved and stored away.
Following the explosion in the Capitol,
this old mahogany was brought out of
hiding and used In cabinet work, and
a piece cf it Is now turned Into the
head of the Masonic gavel.
Imbedded In the gavel Is a large steel
rivet cast by Paul Revere, which was
used in the old frigate Constitution.
There is an affidavit accompanying the
gavel, from the Paul Revere Post of
Boston, attesting the authenticity of
that rivet's history.
The handle of the gavel Is from wood
taken out of the Mount Vernon Man
sion and attested to by Col. Dodge, the
custodian of Mount Vernon.
* * * *
Washington the city has been artis
tically aet forth in a volume of historical
and literary merit, entitled "Washing
ton, the National Capital," This publi
cation, the report assures us, will be
completed in March. 1932. “It will con
tain about 700 pages in 12-point Ken
nerley type and include 400 half-tone
illustrations.
"Of this edition. 7.500 copies will be
printed, of which 2.000 are to be for
sale by the superintendent of docu
ments.”
Another book of this type Is "The De
velopment of the National Capital." It
was printed during 1931 In "quarto size
with 10-point Century expsnded type, on
costed rag paper. About 10.000 copies
of this handsome publication were
Issued.'J
Lucky Looter*.
Prom th* Santa Monica Evening Outlook.
Bandits Invaded the business office of
a newspaper. They were very fortunate,
as they escaped with every cent they
had brought In with them.
The Presidential Year Slump Tradition
--
; _BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN._
There is a long-standing tradition in
America that buslneaa must be depress
ed in presidential years. It is explain
ed that uncertainty as to who the rulers
of the country will be and therefore
what the administrative policies influ
encing business will be causes men of
affairs to stay their activities until the
Issue is decided. New enterprises are
postponed until after election and old
activities are diminished out of caution.
That this is an old tradition, outworn
and obsolete, there is an accumulation
of evidence to prove The National Bu
I reau of Economic Research has made
' a patient study of business conditions
; from the foundation of the Govern
1 ment and has learned that since 1790
the United States has enjoyed a frac
tion more than three years of prosperi
ty for every two years of business hesi
tancy or depression.
If one takes separately the last half
century, it is seen that the prosperous
years make stili better showing. Since
about 1904 the reasons which Impelled
many business men to go warily in
presidential years have been largely
dissipate;) through a revolution in po
litical alignments and issues Actually
I in,the last 50 years there h»ve bem
'seven presidential years of outright
prosperity, three in which some reces
sion has been noted, two in which
mild depression has been experienced
and only four presidential years in
which there has been outright depres
sion. This shows an average well above
the line In favor of prosperous election
years. Crowning the experience may
be cited the last presidential vear. when
President Hoover was elected in the
midst of a carnival of prosperity the
like of which never before had been
witnessed.
The prime reason why presidential
years have ceased to ha"e a depressive
effect upon buslnrss Is that the l-sues
of the elections no longer are tied up
with fundamental economic pllcles.
The tariff was the bone of contention
which long kept business on tenter
hooks every fourth year The manufic
turing North. Republican In sympathies,
favored a high protective tariff The
Bouth, Democratic then to the cere, had
few manufactures to protect, but a great
surplus of cotton and other agricultural
produce. Southern Democrats wanted
to be able to Import cheap farm imple
ments and other manufactured goods
which did not compete with them.
Sectional Attitudes Change.
The Democratic party first won Its
foothold In the North In the cities and,
as the cities grew, the total national
Democratic vote made up of the so’td
South and the Northern cities offered
a very real threat to the Republican
manufacturers. A Democratic victory
meant tariff reduction, to be followed
by a flood of foreign goods made by
cheap labor and then the closing of
Northern faetcries. the laying off of
workmen and hard times. This did not
concern the solid South. They bought
cheaply and continued to sell their cot
ton to England.
Latterly, as the South began to attract
Northern manufacturing industries, a
change of opinion crept in. To save
railroad rates and to employ cheap
labor cotton mills were established in
the Carolina*. The Northern furniture
industry began to move South. Louis
iana sugar. Georgia naval store*. Bir
mingham steel, began to feel the need of
tariff protection. Meantime, some of
the Northern Industrie* had become so
solidly intrenched that they no longer
needed protection. The story changed
and about as many protectionists ap
peared in Southern as in Northern dele
gations. Democratic Presidents could
not up?et the apple carts of their
8outhem constituents by taking off the
tariff. The tariff ceased, therefore, to
be a presidential issue and became a
local cne.
In much the same way the old Demo
cratic party was a free silver party, the
Republicans holding Arm for the gold
standard. In many presidential cam
paigns this was a prime issue, A flood
ing of the country with so unstable a
metal as silver as a currency basis
would be a blow to business, in the
opinion of most Republicans; so a
presidential year which threatened such
an event was a serious matter. Busi
ness took alarm and waited the event
in cautious reticence. This, too, ceased
to be an issue. Democrats, indeed, were
responsible for the gold-based Federal
Reserve System, the .measure being one
of the proudest achievemervs of Presi
dent Woodrow Wilson.
Elections Do Not Affect Business.
‘Traditions die hard and in spite of
the fact that these two major unset
tling factors in the political situation
had settled themselves in the course of
time and experience, thousands of
business men continued to talk, if not
to act. on the old theme of depression
in presidential years The facts do not
bear them out and there Is today noth
ing in the forthcoming election cal
culated to have any effect upon busi
ness.
Whichever party wins the election
will be confronted by a condition in
which the entire world finds itself, one
of low price;, unemployment, slackened
business activity. No President or party
brought about the situation and. it now
is understood, no President or party
can end it. Business is dull on the
Malay Peninsula and no one claims the
President Is to be blamed for that
Business is dull in Spain, in Slam and
in South America, but no President is
responsible. By the same token, no
President can restore prosperity single
handed. So the condition of the times
should not be affected by the approach
of an election.
There is no division of opinion In
this year's presidential canvass. The
Republicans control the White House
and the Democrats control the House
of Representatives. The Senate is so
nearly divided that it balances on a
knife edge between the two parties.
Each party is demanding Just one
thing, prosperity. There is some dif
ference of opinion as to how it should
be produced, but the difference is not
any more between the two major
parties than between members of each
party. The election will decide no
economic issue, no matter which way
it goes. There is no cause for making
this presidential year one of depression.
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star
While the code duello had become
passe 53 years ago, the fighting spirit
. oceas.onally flared
Angry Bluegrass in the case of
Legislators statesmen at odds
Legislators, over uWic m,t.
ten. The Star of May 19, 1882, tells
the story of "a serious trouble which may
end In a hostile meeting between Sen
ator Williams of Kentucky and Repre
sentative Joe Blackburn of the same
State.” It appean that about a month
previous the House of Representatives
had passed a bill appropriating $150,000
for a public building at Frankfort, Ky.
The bill subsequently passed the Senate
and became a law. Mr. Blackburn had
worked strenuously to secure its passage
through the House and "the local papers
in Kentucky complimented him warmly
for the success he had In securing for
Frankfort the Government building." It
appear* that Senator Williams thought
that the Kentucky press was rather
overdoing the thing in giving Black
burn the credit, and he wrote a letter
to that effect to Frankln Hoard of
Frankfort, a rival of Blackburn's for
the congressional nomination. Hoard
showed the letter from the Senator to
a number of hit friends and one of
Blackburn s supporters got a copy of it
and mailed it to the Representative,
who. when he received the letter, was
"Indignant bevond measure.” And,
acting under his “high Impulse." he
wrote a letter to Senator Williams In
closing a oopy of the letter to Hoard
and asked as to the authenticity of the
letter. To this the Senator replied
curtly, denying the right of Blackburn
or any one else to catechise him as to
his private correspondence There
upon Mr. Blackburn wrote a particu
larly peppery letter In reply, which he
closed by the statement that the Sen
ator had "deliberately lied." Fortunately
before sending it he consulted with
Representative John G. Carlisle of
Kentucky, afterward Speaker of the
House and later Senator and Secretary
of the Treasury, who upon reading it
strongly urged Mr. Blackburn to recon
sider and modify his language. This
was done, but even the modified letter
irked Senator Williams to the point at
which a "meeting" seemed Inevitable.
Friends were appointed on each side
to confer and the matter was finally
straightened out to the end of a purely
friendly meeting of the two Kentuckians
In the Democratic cloak room of the
Senate, and announcement was there
upon made by their friends that the
affair had been amicably settled.
*
* *
In The Star of May 20, 1882. Is a
description of the first automatic cash
. , .. carrier installed in
Xirst Automatic a Washington busi
o-.i, p-—- ness establishment, a
Cash earners. Pennsylvania avenue
dry goods house, which attracted much
attention as a remarkable advance in
store efficiency. The account thus ex
plains the system:
"It may be described briefly as an
elevated railroad on which hollow
wooden globes, freighted with cash and
bills, are sent to and from the cashier
and the salesman. The globe is divided
into hemispheres which are locked to
gether by turning one upon the other
When a customer tenders payment for
goods the cash is placed and locked, as
described, in this globe. In order to
prevent any aberration in the move
ment of the ball the contents are held
firmly in the center by springs. The
freighted ball is then placed in a little
elevator, which is hauled to an upper
track, where it is discharged from the
elevator by an Ingenious arrangement,
and at once begins its journey down a
long incline to the cashier. Here the
rignt change is placed in the ball,
which is started back on another In
cline and is discharged automatically
into a little box or received at the hand
of the salesman. The wooden globe
performs Its errand with a promptness
and regularity seldom attained by the
most dutiful and ambitious cash boy.
There are two tracks running along
each aide of the store to the cashier's
elevated desk, the upper one being In
clined toward the cashier and the
lower one away from him. The balls
are of different sizes, and although
there are a dozen balls following one
another in rapid succession, the right
ball always goes to the right place, as
the automatic trap which discharges
it is so adjusted that it operates only
on the ball of the size belonging to th»
box beneath. The successful operation
of the system this morning was wit
nessed by many people, the constant
and rhythmic click of the balls making
a very cheerful and agreeable accom
paniment for the prosy detalk of
business.
}
MacDonald Returng
/
To Face Crave Problems
BY A. G. GARDINER.
LONDON, May 21.—Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald left the nursing
home this week and is expected to be
convalescent within a fortnight. His
absence from active leadership is uni
versally recognised as a disaster at a
most critical moment In history, with
decisions impending in regard to the
imminent Lausanne Conference, the un
favorable outlook for the Disarmament
Conference, vast problems raised by the
coming Ottawa Conference and the
Immediate situation In India.
The latter subject, on which Mac
Donald is especially Instructed and en
lightened. has assumed extreme urgency.
Lord Lothian arrived from India by air
plane Thursday, bringing a report of
the Franchise Committee dealing with
the problem of representation for the
minorities in the proposed Indian con
stitution. As a result of the failure of
Hindus and Moslems at the round table
conference in London to agree on the
principle of communal representation,
the task of settling the terms of the
franchise was thrown on the British
government, and Lord Lothian, under
secretary to India, w'as appointed chair
man of the Franchise Committee to in
vest igste the subject on the spot.
* * * a
The gravity of the question was
startlingly Illustrated this week by the
outbreak of communal rioting at Bom
bay, which resulted in nearly a hundred
deaths and over a thousand being in
1 Jured. It was a deplorable example of
the intensity of the religious passions
which constitute the most serious ob
stacle to the solution of Indian govern
ment.
The immediate cause of the rioting
was a trivial tea shop incident arising
out of the Mohammedan celebration of
Muharram. which set the Moslem and
Hindu communities ablaze with reli
gious frenzy. No anti-British element
entered into the quarrel and no British
were involved except troops hurriedly
summoned to quell the conflict. Sig
nificantly enough, there were no more
urgent clamors for intervention than
those that proceeded from the Indian
Congress newspapers.
Commenting on the incident, the Man
chester Guardian and the London Spec
tator. both strong advocates or Indian
self-government, point out the difficulty
of applying democratic institutions to a
population so fanatically divided that a
quarrel in a tea shop plunges a whole
city into chaos. Both discuss the
dilemma of the maintenance of order.
Either there must always be British
troops to intervene, or India will
alwavs be in a state of communal dis
turbance. The alternative is a purely
Indian army, but an Indian army com
posed of Hindus and Moslems would be
susceptible to the very fsnaticlsm whose
violent excesses it would be called upon
to quell. Thus the Hindu-Moslem prob
lem becomes a vicious circle, whirh In
the present circumstances makes the
presence of British troops the only vis
ible security for the maintenance of law
and order.
It is with this disquieting revelation
of the Inflammable nature of the racial
conflict that the government Is called
upon to decide the crucial question of
communal representation In new Legis
latures. Whatever decision is reached
cannot please both sides and is unlikely
to please either. It Is not even a simple
issue between Hindus and Moslems, but
is complicated by the claims of other
minorities. Including the "untouch
ables.” the Indian Christians. Anglo
Indians and the large European com
munity. But the crux of the issue is
th» Hindu-Moslem question, and it is
difficult to see on what terms the gov
ernment can effect an accommodation
between these great factions.
* * * *
Naturally the Bombay riots have
stimulated the exposition of those who,
under the leadership of Winston
Churchill, resist the whole policy at
conceding self-government to India and
who predict that the adoption of that
policy will plunge India Into racial
warfare. But the government is pledged
to carry through the new constitution,
the only alternative to which. In the
words of Edward Villier. president of
the European Association in India, is
utter chaos.
The fact Is frankly faced that as the
British administration in India is re
placed by an Indian administration the
Hindu-Moslem conflict will become
more acute than today and the conse
quences more serious But it is held
that this consideration cannot justify
refusal of self-government. The effects
of concession may be good or bad. but
the effects of refusal are unthlnkatie.
(Copyright, 1992.4